Can-piercing device



QCII. 17, .1950 w, CQM 2,525,884

CAN-PIERCING nE yIcE Filed Oct. 9, 1946 WITNESSES: INVENTOR:

WALTER FoRc ATTORNEYS.

Patented Oct. 17, 1950 CAN-PIERCING DEVICE Walter E. Forcum, St. Louis, Mo., assignor of onehalf to iValter E. Forcum, St. Louis, Mo., as trustee for Raymond W. Miller, Brentwood, Mo.

Application October 9, 1946, Serial No. 702,212

4 Glaims.

This invention relates to improvements in canpiercing devices. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in can piercing devices which have a can-piercing element and a movable lever that is carried by the can-piercing element and acts to secure the cairpiercing device to the edge of the can to be pierced.

It is, therefore, an object of the present in vention to provide an improved can-piercing de vice which has a can-piercing element and a movable lever that is carried by the can-piercing element and acts to secure the can-piercing device to the edge of the can to be pierced.

It is customary in preparing and selling certain fluids, such as fruit juices and condensed milk, to place those fluids in cans and to sell the cans to the ultimate consumer. In many instances the quantity of fluid in the cans is quite large, and it is often larger than the ultimate consumer can consume, or cares to consume at one time; in those instances it is desirable to open the cans in such a way that a portion of the fluid can be withdrawn from the cans while permitting the cans to hold the rest of the fluid free from dirt and contamination. This can be done by forming small openings at the opposite edges of the can, and using one of the two openings to let the fluid out and using the other opening to let air in. The openings should be small and neatly cut so that a fine stream of fluid can be poured and directed into a cup or glass; the openings should be small enough to keep adulterants out of the can. In the past the ultimate consumer has been known to use ice picks, butcher knives and other sharp instruments to form the spaced openings in the can and while those instruments are able to and did form openings in the can, those instruments were and are exceedingly dangerous to use. Where such instruments are used, a slip of the hand may easily cause serious injury to the person of the user of the instruments. Accordingly a demand has arisen for can-piercing instruments and devices that are safe and certain of operation and will provide small, neatly-cut openings in cans.

A number of different can-piercing instruments and devices have been provided to meet this demand and a general type of device has been developed which has a can-piercing element and a lever that is attached to the can-piercing element and acts to engage the top and side of the can, thus holding the can'piercing device in position relative to the edge of the can. With such devices. one end of the lever is placed against the side of the can at a point adjacent the top of the can, the other end of the lever is placed on the top of the can at a point spaced inwardly from the edge of the can, and then the can-piercing element is rotated until it presses against the top of the can and cuts an opening in that top. In some instances those devices are intended to form small openings, while in other instances the devices are intended to form sizeable openings with pouring lips, but in all instances, the canpiercing element has to be located adjacent that end of the lever which bears against the side of the can so the force exerted by the can-piercing element will hold that end of the lever up against the edge of the can and will hold the other end of the lever down against the top of the can. Moreover, the lever has to be movable relative to the can-piercing element and it must be formed so the pivot or fulcrum thereof will clear the tops of all cans, even though many cans have large beads or edges. Devices of this character have proved to be workable to some extent, but they are not as satisfactory as they could and should be because the requirement of a lever that simultaneously bears against the side and top of the can during the can-piercing operation limits the effective use of the devices to one particular type of can. For example, if the devices are dimensioned so they may be used with cans that have large beads or edges, the levers of those devices will have to be made so the pivots or fulcrums thereof are spaced sufiiciently above the canengaging ends of the levers to clear the top of a can whenever one end of the lever bears against the large head or edge of that can. Such levers would then make the can-piercing device unsuitable for efficient use with cans that have flat or recessed ends or tops, because the levers would hold the pivot or fulcrum so far above the tops or ends of such cans that the can-piercing element could not properly cut the flat or recessed tops or ends of those cans. Moreover, the use of levers that simultaneously bear against the tops and sides of cans during the can-piercing operation will cause the can-piercing elements to apply strong, vertically-directed forces to the levers and tend to dislodge the devices from the cans. For these various reasons, present can-piercing devices are objectionable.

The present invention obviates these objections by providing a can-piercing device with a canpiercing element that carries a lever which bears only against the side of the can du the can piercing operation and which has its fulcrum or pivot spaced inwardly from the edge of the can. With such a device, the can-piercing element will pierce the top of the can and start to cut, thus exerting forces on the lever which. will tend to pull the lever into even tighter relationship with the edge of the can. This is a great improvement over prior can-piercing devices wherein the forces exerted by the can-piercing element tended to dislodge rather than seat the device. Moreover, by having the lever engage just the edge of the can during the can-piercing operation, the device of the present invention permits that lever to rotate relative to the can and let the canpierc ing element enter the can irrespective of the edge spacing between the edge or bead of the can the top or end of the can. It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a can piercing device with a can-oi r I that arries a pivoted lever w of the can during the can-piercing operation.

In some can-piercing devices which have a rotatable lever secured to a can piercing element, a plane lever is attached to one side of a plane can-penetrating element. Such devices are unsatisfactory because the points at which the devices apply force to the can are not in the same plane, but instead are in adjacent planes. This results in the application of a twisting action to the can-piercing device, and this twisting ac-- tion may cause dislodginent of the can-piercing device from the can. Such dislodgment is objectionable since it tends to permit sudden release of forces durin the can-piercing operation, may cause possible injury to the person of the user. lhe present invenion obviates this objection by providing offset lever attached to the can piercing element and the offset in the lever is dimensioned so the lever underlies the cutting portion of the can-piercing element. It is, therefore, an object of the presen invention to provide a can-piercing device wherein the lever attached to the can-piercing device is offset so the point of application of the lever is in the same plane with the point of application of the can-piercing element.

Other objects and advantages of the invention should become apparent ii in a nination of the drawing and accompanying detion.

in the drawing and accompanying description, a preferred embodiment of the invention is shown and described but it is to be understood that the drawing and accompanying description are for the purposes or" illustration only and do not limit the invention and that the invention will be defined by the appended claims.

In the drawing, l. is a side elevational View of a can-piercing device made in accordance the rinciples and teachings of the present in- 3 is a partial, side elevational view of the can-piercing device of big. 1 as that device is applied to a can, such as a can for hills which has a flat end or top,

Fig. l is a partial, side elevational view of the can-piercing device of Fig. i as that device has penetrated and pierced the can shown in Fig. 3, and

Fig. .5 is a partial, side elevational view of the can-piercing device of l as that device has penetrated and pierced a can, such as the cans used to contain fruit juices, which has a recessed end or top.

Referring to the drawing in detail, the nu moral iii denotes the handle of a can-piercing device, i? denotes the can piercing element se-- cured to and carried by the handle i and i3 denotes the cutting portion of the can-piercing element 2. The numeral id denotes the rotatable lover of J-shape which is pivotally connected to the can-piercing element 52 by the pivot The lever M has a can-engaging point it and a notch 8. As indicated in the drawing, the point it is s aced rearwardly from the pivot 253, and the notch i8 is spaced rearwardly from the point it. The pivot 2c is adjacent the end of the longer 4 of the two arms of the J-shaped lever 54, and it is also adjacent the cutting portion E3 of the can-penetrating element i2. As a result, as shown in Fig. 3, whenever the can-piercing device is applied to a can, as by placing the point it adjacent the bead or edge of the can, the pivot 2i) is positioned inwardly of the edge of the As the can-piercing element 52 is rotated in a counter-clockwise manner relative to the can, the sharp, cutting portion iii of the element 52 will begin to pierce the top of the can and thereafter, continued rotation of the can-piercing element 52 will apply a pulling force to the pivot 25} that will pull the J-shaped lever Hi into even tighter engagement with the side and edge or bead or" the can. Moreover, as the can-piercing element 32 continues to rotate, it will pull the longer arm of the J-shaped lever downwardly toward the top of the can, thus permitting a full and complete piercing of the top of the can. It will noted that although both ends of the .i-shaped lever i i bear against the can at the conclusion of the piercing operation, only one end of the lever is does so during the piercing operation. Thus the lever is free to rotate relative to the can and to make sure that all of the cutting portion E3 of the element i2 enters the When the cutting portion i3 starts to penezte the top or end or" the can, the can-piercing ele will exert a force on the pivot 28 that will tend to move the pivot 26 to the left, but because of the firm seating of lever M against the edge of the can, the element 52 will be unable to move the pivot to the left and it will itself rotate and cause its cutting portion 53 to pierce the top of the can.

In applying the can-piercing device to the can, all that need be done is to grasp the device by the handleill and move the device toward the can until. the point iii of the rotatable l ver it engages the edge of the can and thereafter, movet of the handle is upwardly will cause the cutting portion is of the can-piercing 816i ent 52 to penetrate and enter the can. At such .me the device will have assumed the position shown in 4. It will be noted that while the longer arm of the J-shaped lever it is approximately horizontal in Fig. 3, it is inclined to the horizontal in Fig. 4, thus showing that the J-shaped lever i i rotates about the point if; as the cuttin portion it or" element enters the can. It will also be noted that the can-piercing element ii? is approximately parallel to the longer arm of the .J-shaped lever is in 3 and is inclined to that arm in Fig. 4, thus proving that the can-piercing element l2 not only rotates relative to the can but also rotates relative to the Jshaped lever it. This rotation of the lever i i and the can-piercing element i2 provides a very useful application of forces to the can and to the lever i i itself. With this construction and operation, the force applied to the can becomes less with each added degree of rotation of the element i2 and each added degree of rotation of the element 52 brings the J-shaped lever i into even tighter engagement with the edge or bead of the can. As a result, there is little, if any tendency for the lever i i to be dislodged from the edge or head of the can by reason of the movement of handle iii; instead there is increase in the pressure between the point it and the edge or bead of the In Fig. 5, the application of the can-piercing device to a can with a recessed top or end is shown. Once again the point it of lever 54 bears against the edge or bead of the can and the cutting portion it of the element l2 penetrates and enters the top of the can, thus moving the pivot 28 toward the top of the can. By reason of the construction of the can-piercing device of the present invention, the cutting portion 53 was enabled to follow the top of the device even though that top was recessed below the edge or bead of the can and thus the cutting portion it was enabled to make a full and complete cut in that top. It will be noted that the J-shaped lever It has rotated and has permitted the pivot ill to follow the cutting portion 13 and it has also permitted the cutting portion it to penetrate the top of the can as fully as that cutting portion penetrated the flat top of the can of Fig. 4. In this connection, the slot l8 of lever it is of value because the slot 18 will receive the edge or bead of the can and will permit the J-shaped lever M to rotate until the point 13 of the can-piercing element l2 penetrates the can and forms the required opening, even where the bead or edge of the can is quite large.

The can-piercing device shown in the drawing is of considerable value and it is easily used. As a matter of fact, it is possible to place a can on a solid surface, such as a table, grasp the canpiercing device in one hand, move it toward the can until the point it of the J-shaped lever It bears against the edge or bead of the can, and then lift the handle it and cause penetration of the top of the can, all in one movement and without necessitating the holding of the can.

As shown in the drawing, the can-piercing element l2 of the can-piercing device is relatively narrow and will form relatively small openings in the top of the can. These openings will be large enough to let fluid out and let air in but will be small enough to keep adulterants out of the can. This preserves the purity of the contents and permits the can to be used as a container for those contents even after the can has been pierced.

When the cutting portion !3 of the can-piercing element 12 starts to enter the can, the forces applied to the J-shaped lever M will be along a line passing through the point i6 and the center of the pivot Eli, and, as shown in Fig. 3, that line is inclined to the vertical and extends toward the can. Consequently, the operation of the canpiercing device of the present invention does not lead to the exertion of completely vertical forces on the .!--shaped lever it, nor does it lead to the exertion on that lever of forces which are inclined to the vertical and extend away from the can. As the element ii! continues to rotate, the line of application of force will itself rotate until it assumes the position shown inFig. 4 at which time the force is close to the horizontal and is still directed toward the can. Thus the forces exerted by the can-piercing device always act to pull the shorter arm of the J-shaped lever I l into tighter engagement with the can and that pull increases as the handle Ill rotates. Thus there is never at any time, with the can-piercing element of the present invention, a force operating directly upwardly that tends to pull the short arm of the J-shaped lever M out of engagement with the edge of the can; thus the present invention provides a device which is certain of operation and prevents dislodgment of the lever from the can.

In Fig. 5, the initial position of the pivot 2i] will be lower, relative to the point It, than it was in Fig. 3, and thus the initial line of force on the lever M will be closer to the horizontal in Fig. 5 than it was in Fig. 4. Consequently, an even greater factor of safety is provided where the device is used with recessed top cans. However,

in all instances, the device of the present invention is operable with all types of cans.

Whereas a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been shown and described in the drawing and accompanying description, it should be obvious to those skilled in the art that various changes can be made in the form of the invention without afiecting the scope thereof.

What I claim is:

1. A can-piercing device that comprises a canpiercing element with a cutting portion at one end thereof to cut the end of a can, a J-shaped lever, and a pivot, said pivot being adjacent said cutting portion of said can-piercing element, the end of the longer arm of said J-shaped lever being rotatably secured to said can-piercing element by said pivot, the end of the shorter arm of said J-shaped lever having a can-engaging surface to engage the side of said can, said J-shaped lever being dimensioned so said pivot is disposed inwardly of the edge of said can whenever the cutting portion of said can-piercing element engages the end of said can and the can-engaging surface on said shorter arm of said J-shaped lever engages the side of said can.

2. A can-piercing device that comprises a canpiercing element with a cutting portion at one end thereof to cut end of a can, a lever, and a pivot, said pivot being adjacent said cutting portion of said can-piercing element, one end of said lever being rotatably secured to said canpiercing element by said pivot, the other end of said lever having a can-engaging surface to engage the side of said can, said one end of said lever being spaced from said end of said can by said cutting portion of said can-piercing element at the beginning of the can-piercing operation.

3. A canpiercing device that comprises a canpiercing element with a cutting portion at one end thereof to cut the end of a can, a lever, and

-a pivot, said pivot being adjacent said cutting other end of said lever to accommodate a rim on said can.

4. A can-piercing device that comprises a canpiercing element with a cutting portion at one end thereof to cut the end of a can, a lever, and a pivot, said pivot being adjacent said cutting portion of said can-piercing element, one end of said lever being rotatably secured to said canpiercing element by said pivot, the other end of said lever having a can-engaging surface to engage the side of said can, said other end of said lever being displaced from the plane of said one end into the plane of said can-piercing element whereby the cutting and can-engaging forces on said can-piercing device act in the same plane. WALTER E. FORCUM.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Number Dougherty May 21, 1935 

